Pates

Maggots have just gifted them a goal. ?

Rare example of where we’ve been completely outplayed and should be further behind behind but the other teams failed to make us pay. We started to come back into the game at the end but we’ve been sloppy, very sloppy. Side note, as soon as the commentators started talking up TMac’s set shot ratio I knew he was going to miss it, I just kept saying “shut up!!!”

I actually think they’ve got that and more inside them, it’s all mental barriers now. Whether they can break through those barriers this year remains to be seen. I think they are haunted by past demons (no pun intended) dating back to times they weren’t even alive. Because they shoulder the hopes and dreams of a club thats been struggling in the wilderness for so long and laughed at by the competition (and continues to be laughed at) they have to overcome those issues as well as their own. But Richmond did it last year, and I honestly feel like we can do it this year (though not to their achievements).

Obviously we’re going to keep a close eye on the competition but the club internally should only focus on themselves. It’s laid out in front of us and it’s uo to us to make the most of the opportunities available to us. Every game is winnable, just as every game is losable (GC beating Sydney proved that).

I know it’s probably an obvious thing to say but I really feel like we are one big win away from this team kicking into the next gear. And I don’t mean big win in terms of margin against a lower team I mean getting a win against a contender that will give the players the confidence in themselves and each other. I’ve still become pragmatic about this season (I guess it’s MFCSS) but it does still keep that little spark in my heart alive!

I don’t care if it’s the ugliest game ever we just have to find a way to win this week. After suffering the heartbreak of an after the siren loss we have to focus on getting back to winning ways. I feel like if we get the victory this week finals is close to a lock. We shouldn’t be in this position, but we are. I think at least one of the boys that were sick/injured will miss out. It’s a big risk to play three players with question marks on their fitness. The fact that Oliver is traveling is a very good sign, they wouldn’t risk an interstate trip with him if they weren’t confident he would be fine. C’mon Dees, please do this for us! ?

This just sums up theirs arrogance and why I hate them so much. They aren’t even in the 8 and their already requesting a home final. I hope they pull a Melbourne, choke and finish 9th. God I hate them.

We need to win the next close one, it’s those sort of wins tat galvanise a team. But yeah this years close losses have torn me up, especially knowing we probably should have won most if not all of them.

He’s definitely got that arrogance of “I’m the smartest guy in the room” about him. Interestingly I actually thought he was ok at Adelaide, just seemed to go about his business and do it very well. Since going to Geelong he very quickly got that superstar stink about him that seems to permeate from almost all Geelong players. I ligitimately feel like they think their [censored] doesn’t stink.

It was a free, it wasn’t in the spirit of the game or fair play but it was a free by the laws they’ve created. He manipulated it with skill and precision, was he hamming it up? Yes. But he was being block from the contest as “ruckman” and he knew exactly what he was doing as you can see with his celebration where he tapped his head to say “we outsmarted them and the umpires on that one”. Geelong seem to be the masters of manipulating the rules in sneaky ways, they have always been the kings at leading with the head and lowering the body for high contact. It wasn’t a good look but the umpire was unfortunately correct. Wouldn’t surprise me if you randomly see midfielders nominate for the ruck in sneaky ways similar to how Dangermouse did.

My girlfriend (a Brit) was really surprised and shocked at how [censored] off I was after the Port loss. Of course I would never hurt her but she kept poking and making fun of how upset I was. I had to calmly (but still clearly annoyed) tell her to just let me be, just let me be annoyed for a bit and let the frustration out. She then got annoyed at me for that! ? My point is I’m a very patient guy and I can let my frustrations out in healthy ways. There are too many that don’t, and it’s silly to ignore the fact that heightened emotions from sport create higher instances of DV.

He was so accurate in the VFL the week they were flooded, he obviously struggles to maintain composure and the same skills when in front of a big crowd. I think kicking that goal might’ve made him, but now I can’t see him at our club next year. I’d be up for Bugg coming in, even though he has very questionable skills his work rate, pressure, and pest-nature creates shots on goal.

Big question marks over our mental strength given the amount of times we’ve been in winning positions and let it slip. I almost feel like for pre-season we should go on some kind of training camp that tests the players not just physically but also mentally, pushing them to the limits. Anyone know where one of those might exist?

I’m done believing in this year. I really thought we were going to do it last night, just like I thought we were going to do it against Port and Geelong again in round one. ALL THREE of those games should be wins, no excuses, no ifs and buts. We haven’t got the mental steel for it this year, which is frustrating because I feel that’s step backwards. Last year the question wasn’t could we beat the best teams, it was why weren’t we beating the teams we should? I’m shattered by this loss and I’m sick of us being laughed at by the competition. We’ve become the new Richmond, the team that everyone enjoys getting so close to success they start to believe only to have it ripped away from them. Oh and the cats can go suck a fat one, they are the luckiest club in the AFL.

It’s getting up there now, three key injuries and a chunk of depth in Smith, Hunt (who’s having a down year), and Stretch. Plus Jetta test as well. Big challenge for us now, really hope Hibbo’s quad injury is on the lower end of severity.

Bad loss, Hibberds been down on his output from last year but he’s a cool head down back which is so important especially in high pressure environments. I feel like they’ll bring Wagner in, the coaches appear to rate him and he started to show some good signs after a terrible first couple of games earlier this year.

Oops so he was! Point is I always heard when his contract was coming up that he would leave Perth but it never happened.

About bloody time, though as you point out it’s none of the key/star players. How do you think they would go with Rance out for the year (Lever) and Cotchin (Viney) out for an extended period of time. Would they still be cruising easy on top? I’ve said it so many times you can’t win/compete for premierships without luck and they have had it in spades. Not taking away from their achievements because every premiership team every year has had it.

Gawn was far and away the most influential player on the ground. If he can't see that he shouldn't be a football commentator anymore, he was a great (and thuggish) player back in the day but that's not this day anymore. These last bunch of games will be a true test of our club. We haven't really beaten anyone of note, we have to now.

I feel that's harsh on Jones and a little disrespectful to his achievements. Yes he rose to the top of our club during probably our worst patch, but captain out of necessity? He showed grit and determination when everyone else just wanted to roll over. That's not a captain out of necessity, that's a captain full stop. As for his current position in the team, he's able to take more of a back seat while some really talented young guns step up but he still shows his presence and leadership, it might just not be as obvious to us armchair experts. I think he's got a big role to play as we press on, and with Viney out for a while (again) it'll be incumbent on him as sole captain to step up and lead us.

We've seen it enough times when we're on the wrong end, sometimes teams will be missing players but they'll see it as a challenge rather than defeat. Round 23, whether it hinges on our making the finals or not (I really hope not) is going to be a huge game. If it does end up that way I'm on board with the stand alone Monday night fixture.

Normally this is true and he's got a very accurate long kick, but boy there were some shanks on the weekend. Don't get me wrong he was fantastic for us, and he was a key part of our third term destruction of the dogs, but that one that came off the side of the boot and went out would've made Simon Godfrey himself blush! Loving seeing Gus play great footy, gives me a warm fuzzy feeling every time I see him singing the song. He's done it the hard way, and boy he deserves it.

Jeez the wording in the title was really similar to the Jack Viney thread, I was worried he'd turned up on Monday complaining of a sore shoulder and being put into surgery or something! In terms of him leaving us to go back to Perth I wouldn't put any credibility on Harvey's word, he's not a former player turned reporter with his "ear to the ground" he's just giving his opinion which is based off other opinions. All reports say he's very happy in Melbourne and honestly if he didn't go back to Perth after everything that happened last year I feel like he'll be less inclined as the years go on. He also looks like he's enjoying his footy at the moment (why wouldn't you when you're hird on the Coleman medal), which to me seems a bit different from his last couple of years. Last year his head was obviously not in it, understandably so. Remember everyone said it was a foregone conclusion that Pavlich would return to Melbourne.

As with any injury to a major player there are two sides to it. Obviously it’s disapointing we don’t have him and we should tread very carefully with it given his history, but we certainly have better depth now and we can use this as an opportunity for someone to step up. Tyson is the obvious candidate to come back in but he’s very hit and miss (literally) even though I’d say I’m a fan. We brought Hannan in vs Bulldogs to increase our leg spear on the outside, and we have Spargo showing quite a bit of upside wherever we use him. The other one could be Oscar Baker might get a chance in Viney’s absence if he shows enough form at Casey. Bottom line it sucks but let’s make the most of a bad situation.

We were shite for so long that my belief is the “Darwin effect” was just an excuse for us not being able to win following week.